Sue Gray is helping Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet plan “quick win” policies that can be put in place swiftly after a general election victory.
The former senior civil servant, now Sir Keir’s Chief of Staff, is holding separate meetings with each Shadow Cabinet member to draw up detailed proposals for a post-election King’s Speech.
Labour insists it is not taking the result of the next election for granted, but intense preparations have begun for the party’s first year in power.
A senior Labour politician said: “Sue Gray’s role is invaluable because many of the Shadow Cabinet don’t have experience of government. She can tell them how it works, what’s possible and how to get things done.”
Ms Gray became a household name after her highly critical Partygate report into lockdown parties under Boris Johnson and many Conservatives were angry when it emerged she had agreed to work for the Labour Party. Lucy Powell, the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, is overseeing preparation for a King’s Speech which will set out legislation to be introduced in the first 12 months of a Labour government.
There will be options ready to go if the party wins a large majority or if it gains a smaller majority making it harder to get controversial measures through Parliament.
Likely policies include a regular GP for every patient; better mental health care in schools; letting councils run bus services; bringing train services into public ownership; a pledge to pay for day-to-day expenditure through tax receipts – not borrowing.
Many Labour figures expect Rishi Sunak to hold the vote in October, but the party is preparing for a May election just in case.
A survey by WeThink for the Sunday Express found 40% would prefer an election “as soon as possible”, while 27% back a vote in spring next year.
The survey found 15% believe autumn 2024 is the right time, with 17% wanting it January 2025, the last date possible.
In the meantime, Shadow Cabinet members have been ordered to avoid raising expectations that will be impossible to deliver.
A senior Labour politician said: “It can’t be a big shopping list of promises.”
Labour is attempting to play down expectations of victory in this week’s Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire by-elections, but believes it could make a gain if a by-election takes place in Blackpool South, where Tory Scott Benton is currently under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.
